A/N: Yep, I'm posting part one at the same time to reassert what I said in the first post: this is mostly Mentalist-centric, and I will be moving it to crossovers at a later date.
x tromana
Part One
Patrick Jane didn't sleep very often. His demons haunted him more than enough during his waking hours; he wasn't about to let them run riot during his sleep. At least, when he was awake, he had things to distract himself from them. There was no such luck to escape when his eyes were tightly shut and his mind was currently elsewhere. However, on the few occasions when he couldn't resist any longer, his dreams were startling and vivid. Only on very rare occasions did he see the butchered bodies of his dead wife and child. The rest of the time, they were completely different. He never dared to share his recollections with other people; they were utterly ludicrous, even to him. Instead, Jane diligently wrote them down in a notepad he kept stashed underneath his couch. The others thought he was writing out theories on Red John, and that was fine by him. After all, he had already spent a lot of lonely nights doing just that. At least they respected his privacy. Not that he generally gave them much choice on the matter, anyway.
It was early morning – around six a.m. – when he stirred. Jane blinked several times when he finally awoke. Instinctively, he ran a hand over his chest, almost curious as to what he would fine. For just a second, in that blurry moment between sleep and wakefulness, he had almost believed that he had two hearts. It was almost reassuring when he just discovered the one, beating out its regular beat to the upper left of his chest. Slowly, Jane swung his legs over the side of the couch and sat up. After twisting his neck to get rid of the ache he always associated with sleeping on the couch, he finally felt fully conscious. Carefully, he leaned over and his fingers searched out for his precious notepad. When he finally managed to dig it out, he grinned to himself.
Almost immediately after, he started writing: an alternative physiology? same appearance on the outside, but two hearts? two pulses as a consequence, too. extremely long lifespan? who can live to 740 years old? internal body temperature sixty degrees? seems too cold… different blood? Jane read over his notes, frowning as he did so; it didn't make much sense, but he knew that it could make the basis of a solid science fiction novel. Maybe, if he dared, he'd have words with Cho about it. Still, he studiously wrote down everything that he could recall. He was so engrossed in the task in hand that he didn't even realize that Lisbon was hovering over him. Instead of saying 'good morning', she cleared her throat loudly. Jane jerked his head up in response and smiled warmly at her as she spoke.
"What are you writing about?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.
"Nothing interesting," he said and snapped the book shut.
"But you'd tell me if it was important, right?" There was an uncharacteristic hint of doubt in the tone of her voice.
"Right," he agreed with a decisive nod. Then, he scrutinized her expression. "New case?"
"Yeah. Not far from here; only came to pick you up 'cause I was passing by."
"Thanks," he said, grateful for her consideration. "You ready?"
He stood and walked several steps towards the elevator. Lisbon remained rooted to the spot, surprised at just how eager he was to get on with work, especially considering how early it was. After all, it was very uncharacteristic of him. However, Jane was looking forward to the distraction. Anything was better than listening to the nonsensical thoughts currently running through his head.
"Aren't I meant to be the one who says that?" she asked.
"Does it matter?"
She shrugged. Normal rules didn't apply to Patrick Jane and they both knew it.
They fell into a restive silence as they waited patiently for the elevator. When the doors sprang open, Jonas from Petty Crimes, along with two unusually dressed civilians, exited. Jane frowned; it was remarkably early for such meetings. In spite of that, he still gave them a cursory glance over. The girl had a short brown bob, sparkly cat-suit and a hint of wanderlust in her eyes. Meanwhile, her older companion was dressed shabbily and kept wringing his hands together. Despite his fatherly expression, Jane suspected that the pair weren't actually related.
"But Doctor," the woman stated expressively, "it's all so primitive here!"
"Not to Jamie, my dear Zoe," he answered genially. "Now, we'll just go along with the lovely young man and we'll…"
Jane didn't hear anymore; they had already gone out of earshot. In all honesty, he was grateful for it. The small snippet of conversation had already jarred with him and the last thing he needed was to hear more eccentricities to fuel his dreams. Lisbon stared at him impatiently and he quickly joined her. She shook her head and sighed. Clearly, she was in one of those moods where she had very little patience. Then again, considering it was not yet seven a.m. and they were already on their way to a crime scene, she had probably been disturbed from her sleep earlier than usual.
They sat in silence as Lisbon drove sedately. The roads were beginning to get congested as the morning rush hour well and truly began. Jane watched her carefully as they slowly came across increasingly more traffic. In a way, it was sometimes quicker to get to a crime scene which was out of town rather than in the city center. The roads of Sacramento weren't always necessarily that easy to get through at the best of times. Eventually, they slowed to a stop. Jane smirked when Lisbon cursed under her breath. For a while, he had been tempted to confide in her about his dreams. If nothing else, he thought they would amuse her. And besides, she already considered him to be a fairly strange person, so what harm could it do?
"Ever wondered what it would be like if humans had two hearts?" he queried.
"Why the hell would I do that?"
"It'd be interesting. I wonder if it would make us stronger, hardier. Imagine how well the Olympians would perform…"
"Why would we even need two hearts?" she asked, humoring him.
"One for casual, one for best?" he suggested with a quirk of his eyebrow.
"And what does that mean?"
"We have a backup of other organs. Eyes, kidneys, lungs. Why not heart? It'd completely change the respiratory system too, I guess…"
"Jane?" she interrupted.
"Yes, Lisbon?"
"Shut up."
She shot him one of those 'you're mad' glances when she spoke and he promptly obeyed instructions for a change. Clearly, she wasn't in the mood for a debate on alternative human anatomy at this time in the morning. Also, it looked very much like she was considering that he had too much time on his hands. Jane knew that between working for the CBI and hunting down Red John, he was fairly busy. However, that didn't stop there from being occasions when endless monotony sunk in. That was when his all-too-vivid dreams haunted him the most.
Once they were moving again, he started talking about safer subjects – the weather, baseball, pet ownership and what she knew about the crime scene they were slowly approaching. Lisbon was still a little reluctant to talk at first, but as she woke up more, she grew a little more loquacious. It was always the same on days when she didn't get her morning coffee. Jane smiled; this was what he liked about spending time with her. She would humor virtually any subject he dared to come up with.
That was except for his crazy dreams, clearly.
When they arrived at the crime scene, there was a brisk chill in the air. The park was small, idyllic, but had now been cordoned off with bright yellow tape. Forensics milled around the area, but Lisbon headed straight towards the coroner. He was a new man, and Jane watched as she shook his hand firmly before introducing them both. Soon enough, they were being led to the dead body. It was completely out in the open; a place where many people could have seen it.
And almost immediately, Jane could tell that this wasn't the place the man had died.
There was no sign of damage to the surrounding area. No blood trails, nothing. There wasn't even any damage to the vegetation, suggesting that the man's body had been dragged into place. It was almost as if the body had fallen out of the sky, already dead. Without waiting for further instruction, Jane took a closer look. He already knew that the man was a John Doe, but hoped that he could find out more from his observations.
He looked to be in his late forties, or maybe early fifties. Wavy brown curls fell to his shoulders; it was quite a dated hairstyle. Then again, his clothing choices were relatively unusual too. Not as much as the young woman he'd spotted at the CBI headquarters, but enough to pose a few questions in his mind. A six-buttoned vest, ripped velvet frock coat, a cravat that had fallen out of place and even a dented fob watch, this was practically Edwardian chic. Briefly, Jane wondered if the victim had been headed towards some kind of costume party, or if he chose to wear it on a regular basis. If they'd been in Los Angeles, he'd have simply assumed that the man was an actor.
Eventually, he took stock of the man's many injuries. From what he could tell, the man had suffered a broken arm and leg. There were countless cuts and bruises littering his features. On top of that, there were several burn marks. However, there was nothing that immediately suggested itself as being the cause of death. He hadn't been shot, stabbed or hit around the head. There were no suggestions of poisoning, though Jane knew that the autopsy might shine more of a light on that possibility. The coroner and Lisbon both seemed to be sharing the same dour expression; clearly the new guy had come to the same conclusions as Jane had.
"Well?" Lisbon asked.
"It's odd."
"That's what I said," the new coroner replied. "Nothing seems to add up. I hope that my autopsy will clear up facts soon."
Jane nodded in agreement. For once, he was grateful for the answers of medical science. However, he also felt slightly annoyed, more at himself than anything. He was meant to be the one with the answers, to speed up the cases so they didn't have to wait for results from other people.
"He didn't die here though."
"He didn't?" the coroner said in response.
"I didn't think so either," Lisbon muttered and Jane smiled a little.
"It looks like the body has been placed here somehow."
"Yeah, it's weird," she agreed quietly. "You done here?"
"Yeah."
They walked side by side and Jane turned to give the body one last cursory look. He wouldn't have dared to say a word about it, but he almost could have sworn that the body was giving off a faint orange glow…
